I'm an editorial photographer in Charleston, South Carolina. I travel as much as possible, I have a darling dog named Dignan, and I enjoy thrift shopping, Netflixing and eating out. Long walks on the beach are just OK.

Feb 2 Do You Sea What I Sea

I took my first Carnival Cruise when I was 16, and everything about it felt like magic. My family and I left our home in Michigan in the middle of January (I repeat: Michigan, January) and flew to Miami to board a gigantic floating world of wonder and sun. All-you-can-eat buffets! Dance clubs! Multiple swimming pools! Bingo! Beach towels made into animal shapes! Ice cream stations! Vegas-style shows! Karaoke! My brother and I discussed the feasibility of hiding ourselves in the bowels of the ship on the last day so we wouldn't have to disembark.

Cruises became the family vacation of choice for the next several years, but when my brother invited me to sail again last May—this time with his wife and kids in tow—I hadn't cruised in ages. My idea of what constitutes magic in travel has essentially become the opposite of the list above (OK, except for maybe the ice cream stations), but I wasn't about to miss a vacation with my niece and nephew. Besides, Mom was coming along, and if you've met my mom, you know this is a big plus.

What supplied the most entertainment for me this time around was simply snapping interesting scenes with my iPhone (it is a true miracle that my phone does not live at the bottom of the ocean now). Also, I realized there's one part of cruising that will always feel magical to me: being surrounded completely by sky and sea.